1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drainage system for carrying out treatments that are required in predetermined processes for reagent addition, liquid suction, discharge, and separation, etc., using a vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fields of clinical chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, etc. that involve chemical analyses, various treatments, such as reagent addition, liquid suction, discharge, and separation, etc., are carried out in reaction processes. In the case where a liquid sample in a vessel, such as a micro-plate assembly or vial, contains an objective substance, for example, magnetic particles that serve to hold the objective substance on their respective surfaces are loaded into the liquid sample. After the objective substance is held on the magnetic particles, supernatant liquid is sucked out and discharged, whereby the objective substance can be separated from the liquid sample.
In this treatment, only the supernatant liquid is sucked out and discharged while the magnetic particles that hold the objective substance are not discharged. For this purpose, a magnet is brought close to the vessel to collect the magnet particles in one place.
A conventional treatment such as separation treatment using magnet particles is carried out by manual operation or by using suction mechanism provided with a plurality of plungers.
A conventional treatment such as manual separation requires troublesome operations, such as operation for bringing the magnet close to the vessel and operation for discharging supernatant liquid by a pipette or the like. In the case where a large number of minute vessels, such as micro-plates, vials, etc., are arranged for the treatment, the treatment takes a long time.
On the other hand, a system in which a suction mechanism with a plurality of plungers are used for automatic separation requires an actuator that entails high-accuracy control for each plunger, in order to actuate a plurality of micropipettes by the plungers. Thus, the system is complicated and expensive.